Need for Speed Unbound Debuts First Post Launch Update?

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Titled the “Volume 2 update”, the new racing post-launch content for the Criterion-developed title features new challenges, cars, rewards, playlists, and more.

New challenges in Lakeshore

The streets of Lakeshore in Need for Speed Unbound receive new additions in the form of three new challenges, where players can earn XP and Bank. The game racing also adds 30 new Hot Lap activities through which players can win stickers, driving effects, and poses.

The designers are releasing two new Rumble playlists with three different species. Criterion will also bring in four new Endurance events, two new street races, racing and a couple of new Standard playlists. Existing playlists will undergo a major overhaul as well.

Upon completing the various playlists mentioned above in a Lotus, players can win a Rare Custom Lotus Emira Balmain Edition 2021. Additionally, EA Play racing members may also earn special goodies like the customized two-seated Nissan Fairlady ZG 1971, which arrives with Volume 2.

Locational Clues

Keys to the Map, a downloadable content pack from Criterion, will reveal where all 260 collectibles can be found. This contains the 100 Bears, 80 Billboards, and 80 Street Art places, with the 160 activities that players may take part in to gain prizes. Keys to racing the Map will also feature the special “Fury and Zen” apparel bundle, which comprises of a Jacket, T-Shirt, Sweatpants, and Cap.

Need for Speed Unbound is the latest installment in Electronic Arts’ street-racing franchise, and it aims to revitalize the sputtering series with a daring aesthetic that borrows from anime and graffiti artists. Even while Unbound isn’t quite as good as the very finest racing games, it’s still the best Need for Speed game in years, which bodes well for the future of the brand.

THE ANGRY AND THE MODEST

The visual style of Need for Speed Unbound is immediately noticeable. Upon first reveal, it was dubbed “the anime Need for Speed.” This is accurate enough, racing but not the whole story. The metropolis of Chicago that serves as the setting for Need for Speed Unbound is beautifully drawn, and so are the game’s exquisite model cars.

However, it is the story’s memorable characters who stand out. The player character and all other residents of the fictitious Lakeshore City are racing depicted in a cel-shaded manner that leans on anime vibes. While the contrast between the realistic setting and the cartoonish figures reads strangely on paper, it works well in execution.

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The initial stages of Unbound’s character racing creation felt very much like those of role-playing games. More time than I care to admit was spent adjusting her model until I achieved the desired blend of Fast and Furious and Speed Racer aesthetics.

FAST COMPETITOR

Inbound’s narrative campaign also has substantial time spent with your chosen protagonist. While the story of “revenge via street-racing” isn’t particularly novel, it serves its purpose well enough that I can enjoy playing the game and progressing through the world.

The game’s aesthetic doesn’t end with the characters, though. Driving has a flare to it that no other racing game has. Cel-shaded graffiti effects spray out from exhaust pipes and tires while drifting or boosting. Vehicles may appear as weird as your character with the correct tweaks, too. The purple-to-green chrome color change of my chosen vehicle matched the neon green locks of my main character.

I found myself desiring the game to carry it one step further and simply make the entire experience a cel-shaded arcade racing. Need for Speed Unbound represents the first game in the brand produced by Criterion Games since 2012’s Most Wanted. Criterion’s open-world racing games, such as Burnout Paradise and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, are among the best in the industry.

One day, perhaps?

Most of what Ghost Games produced for 2019’s Need for Speed Heat has been passed on to Criterion. As in Grand Theft Auto, Unbound features a “heat” system whereby players attract the attention of law enforcement and run the chance of racing being “busted.” Furthermore, the day/night cycle that divides the game into two distinct drift hunters halves. During the day, you can participate in lower-stakes races and gain heat which will carry over into the evening. Nighttime is when the real money is made, with bigger races and higher stakes depending on how risky you were during the day.

In contrast to Heat, which only featured night racing, every aspect of Unbound is unlawful. The main challenge in Unbound isn’t gaining an illegal reputation by racing at night; rather, it’s avoiding the law enforcement while trying to make off with your winnings. It’s not always simple to do this.

Need for Speed: Unbound features brand-new rides.

These officers have a vendetta. At higher levels, the opposing AI might become very hostile and tough to defeat. There should be a challenge in escaping, but the “don’t quit” attitude of the Lakeshore police can detract from the fun later in the game. Time progresses as cars race day and night. The campaign spans four weeks, with the grand finale occurring at the end of each week in a high buy-in race. You’ll need to save up ahead of time to pay the entrance fee and invest in performance upgrades for your vehicle.

Unbound does not begin as a street-racing power fantasy – you have to earn it. You receive a vehicle that is, to put it mildly, garbage, and upgrading won’t be an option for a very long time. In Unbound, you have to put in some effort to advance, but the rewards are well worth the effort. Over the most part of the campaign, I used the same vehicle, which initially had poor handling and acceleration but eventually turned into a formidable drifting machine. More so than in any other arcade racer, the ability to tweak your vehicle’s stats to improve its performance adds a new layer of satisfaction to the thrill of competition.

This is a very winding road

Unbound is a contemporary racing game that falls somewhere in the center thanks to its street-racing style and feel. The Gran Turismo 7s of the world sit next to the Forza Horizon 5s of the open world racing genre. Yet, a major drawback of Unbound is that it can’t compete with the responsiveness and quality of driving in any of these series.

The fact that Unbound is part of a series that has often had to reimagine itself is largely responsible for this. Yet more than merely the newest iteration, this seems like a course correction for the series, due to the meticulous adjustments made by Criterion Games. Unbound stands apart from the mass of racing games because to its distinctive visual design.

Despite its limitations, I always wanted to play just one more race; I had greater control over my speed and handling, and I could make my racing vehicle look anyway I wanted. Need for Speed Unbound is the strongest installment in the series in years, and a promising portent of things to come.

 

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